Clerks
by eastWOLF
Summary: Elliot is a 20 year old who works at the Quick Stop Convenience store with his best friends Olivia, Munch and Fin. They all have their problems and right now Elliot's biggest one is finding a way to watch the ball game but nothing is as easy as it seems. He is forced to deal with stupid customers, annoying classmates, loud kids and he's not even suppose to work today!
1. But it's My Day Off!

Clerks

**Disclaimer: I do not own Law & Order: SVU or Clerks, they belong to Dick Wolf and Kevin Smith respectively; although Kevin Smith is a cool dude.**

**Author's Note: If you've seen Clerks then you know where this is going and if you haven't then be warned, raunchiness ensues!**

* * *

Chapter 1: But it's My Day Off!

It was an early Saturday morning in May, the sun was just rising, birds were chirping and everything was peaceful. In Queens a young man named Elliot Stabler was sleeping in his room, he'd been exhausted from the day before working a 13 hour shift at the Quick Stop convenience store and the only reason he did that was so he could have today off. He was in such a deep sleep that he didn't hear his cellphone ringing. It rang for a while and Elliot didn't even acknowledge it, he just rolled over in his bed as if that would make it stop.

"Dammit boy, answer your phone!" Elliot's dad yelled as he stopped in his doorway. He was getting ready for his job as he put on his cop uniform. "Get your lazy ass up!" he screamed louder.

"Elliot!"

"What?!" Elliot was finally startled awake. He looked up at his dad and then to his phone on the night stand. "Sorry dad."

Elliot's dad waked away but was still annoyed.

He answered his phone. "Hello?" he still sounded very sleepy.

"Elliot?" on the other end of the line was his boss Don Cragen.

"Good morning Mr. Cragen," the young man said.

"Sorry to wake you this early but I need you to come in today." His boss told him.

"What?" Elliot questioned, hoping he heard his boss wrong. "I worked until closing yesterday, today's my day off!"

"Look," Cragen started. "I need somebody to open the store, Fin called in sick."

"Fin called in sick?" Elliot asked incredulously. "Well what about Olivia?"

"The security cameras are busted; you know I don't like her running the store by herself."

Elliot let out a sigh. "Fine, I'll come in. So I'll see you in an hour."

"Actually I'm not coming in either; I got tickets to the Subway Series game today."

"So does this also mean that I'm closing too?" Elliot was getting upset because he wanted the day off so he could watch the game in peace.

"I'll pay you over time and I'll let you close an hour early." Cragen leveled with him.

"Alright." Elliot agreed.

"Thank you." Cragen thanked him before hanging up.

Elliot threw his phone to the edge of his bed and laid back down. "There goes my Saturday." He just wanted to close his eyes and go back to sleep but he couldn't. He rolled out of bed and got ready for work. He went downstairs and saw that his dad already left and that was for the better. His dad was always angry and today was no different, just like Elliot he wanted to stay home and watch the game.

After eating a small breakfast Elliot put on his Yankees cap and walked outside. His dad took the car which forced him to take the subway. "Ugh, this is going to be a long day." He headed towards the F train.

* * *

After a long and slow ride on the F train thanks to weekend delays Elliot finally reached his stop. He got off and headed topside to the convenience store where he processed to unlock the gates. He grabbed the stack of newspapers out front before going inside and turning on the lights. The store was nothing special; it was just like every other bodega in the big apple that sold you morning paper, snacks and other necessities. His boss Cragen was a nice man; he gave Elliot a job once he graduated high school and he's been working there ever since. While it was only minimum wage it was still better than nothing.

Elliot started his employee duties by putting on some coffee, putting out the papers and changing the close sign to open. He looked at his watch and saw it was exactly 7am. "Great, 6 hours until the game starts and 14 hours till closing." He groaned.

* * *

7:45am; 5 hours and 15 minutes Before the Game:

Saturdays were so monotonous, in the early morning hours all people ever did was come into the store to buy the paper and a cheap cup of coffee. Some people would come in there to chitchat but Elliot wasn't a morning person, he just wanted people to buy there items and get out. He doesn't mind it most of the times but it was like some people came into the store just to give him a hard time and today was especially bad. Because today was game 1 of the Subway Series Elliot wanted to show team pride by wearing his Yankees cap and t-shirt, when 3 guys walked in with Mets hats and shirts they gave him dirty looks. Elliot shook his head and went back to the magazine he was reading.

"You got a problem?" one of the guys questioned.

"Not really." Elliot didn't even look up.

"I think you do!" the same guy forcibly shoved the magazine out of Elliot's hands.

"Look pal I didn't do anything." He told the large man. "Clearly you just don't like the Yankees."

"Damn right we don't!" another of the guys said. "The Mets are going to wipe the floor with those damn Yankees!"

"Wipe the floor?" Elliot responded. "Last year we destroyed the Mets on their home turf 4-0! Face it, the Mets are trash!"

This was just supposed to be a little smack talk between fellow New Yorkers but sometimes people take it too serious. The three guys got angry at Elliot's remarks and one lunged to grab him from behind the counter. He dodged it but they kept trying to grab him.

"All this because your team sucks?" Elliot remarked.

"We'll get you, you little shit!" he heard one of them yell.

While the men were trying to grab Elliot they didn't notice that someone else had walked into the store. She was a young lady who had shoulder length brunette hair, hazel eyes and a body to die for. Her name was Olivia Benson and just like Elliot she was a store clerk at the Quick Stop. She was a great employee who always knew what to do and jumped into action when need be. Right now she saw her best friend being attacked and looked for a way to stop it. She grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher and sprayed the lowlifes.

"I suggest you guys back off unless you want more." She told them while standing her ground.

They stared her down before easing up. "Relax lady we were just messing with the guy, we weren't gonna hurt him."

She still stood there obviously not believing them. "Sure, now I suggest you guys buy something or get out."

Two of the guys walked and one guy brought a pack of cigarettes. Elliot rung it up and the guy took it, but not before flipping the bird to both of them and leaving.

"Don't you just love the people of New York?" Olivia said sarcastically as she put back the fire extinguisher.

"For the record I could have taken all 3 of them." Elliot said coming from behind the counter.

"Sure," Olivia rolled her eyes. "So, why are you here? I thought Fin was supposed to be working today."

"You don't enjoy my company?" Elliot looked mocked hurt.

"I do," she smiled. "But you worked all of yesterday and just so you could get today off."

"Fin called in sick that jerk looked fine yesterday."

"24-hour flu?" Olivia said playing devil's advocate.

"Whatever the case he owes me!" he declared.

* * *

**Author's Note: Just something random I thought of since I was rewatching Clerks and thought wouldn't it be interesting if the SVU squad were just some teens with shitty jobs and shit pay? Pretty sure most of us can relate to that! Like it?**


	2. Your Best Friends Can Be Jerks

**Author's Note: I'm glad people like it and there will be more chapters!**

* * *

Chapter 2: Your Best Friends Can Be Jerks

10:23am: 2 hours and 37 minutes Before the Game:

There was a sign on the counter that said 'Please leave money on the counter, take change when applicable. Be honest!' Elliot and Olivia were sitting behind the counter out of sight; he was leaning on her shoulder fading in and out of sleep as she was filling out order forms. Someone who was buying a paper dropped 75 cents and walked out.

"Thank you." Elliot said dazed as he heard the change hit the counter.

"You really are tired." Olivia remarked.

They had been working for almost three and a half hours and all they did was take inventory, clean and help the few customers; it was always slow this early.

"This is why I never work Saturday mornings." He told her. "This is my only day to sleep in and unless your dad really needs me I'm not coming in before 12."

Olivia was Cragen's adopted daughter after her mother died when she was 8. She didn't know who her biological father was but Cragen cared for her as if she was his daughter and that's all that mattered.

"Sleep in?" Olivia questioned. "I thought you just watched Saturday morning cartoons in your underwear."

"Haha you're so funny." He noted dryly. "No, lately I've come to appreciate the value of sleep. I work all week and I have Sunday mass I need a break sometimes."

"And another thing," Elliot started. "You didn't tell me your dad had game tickets today."

"One of his friends had an extra ticket and gave it to him last night." She said. "I didn't think it was a big deal because Fin was supposed to be here not you."

He said nothing to this and went back to leaning on her shoulder. Another person came in a grabbed a paper; they put down a dollar and took a quarter for change.

"Thank you."

Olivia put down her clipboard and looked at Elliot. "How do you even know they'll take the right amount of change or pay at all?"

"I only left three bucks and like two dollars in change up there." He didn't open his eyes. "It's not a school day so there are only people coming in here for the paper or coffee. Plus if people see money unattended they assume someone is watching them anyway and won't steal it, honesty through paranoia."

"That sounds crazy."

"Munch taught me that."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Who do you think put the 'If your are going to steal something let us know' sign?" he asked.

"Well all 3 of you are assholes who don't take your jobs seriously." She said.

He opened his eyes and sat up. "Take my job seriously? Liv we're all store clerks who deal with morons every day, our jobs aren't that hard."

"If you want to become a police officer you have to take everything seriously."

"Not this again!" he sighed.

"Yes this again El, you have to start take things seriously, even the small stuff." She told him. "You think the academy is going to accept you if you keep this up?"

Elliot got up he didn't want to have this conversation. He never liked getting into conflict with Olivia especially about joining the police academy.

"I got one more year to worry about it." He stood at the counter and didn't look at her. "I said I'd wait until after you got your associate degree before entering the police academy. We're going to get through it together."

"I know," she got up from the floor. "But in the meantime you could study more and be serious."

"I'm not asking my dad for help that's for sure." He stated firmly. He saw a customer walk through the aisles and went to see if they needed help.

"I'll study when I want to." He said offhandedly. He then walked up to the customer, a man wearing a t-shirt that said 'Marines' on it. "Hi sir, anything I can help you with?"

The guy looked at Elliot. "Not really, but I couldn't help but overhear that you want to join the police academy."

"Well yes, but that's far in the future." Elliot told the man.

"You look like you could use a little discipline in your life. How old are you?" the man asked.

"20 years old." Elliot hated talking to customers.

The man pulled out his wallet and handed Elliot his business card, his name was Sargent Nathan Page. "If you really want to get straighten out join the Marines, our nearest recruitment center is on Canal Street." He grabbed a gallon of milk and walked up to the counter.

Olivia rung up the milk. "That'll be $5.06"

Sgt. Page handed her the money and before leaving looked to Elliot. "Think about what I said kid."

Olivia looked at her friend. "What was that about?"

"Something stupid, it was nothing." He didn't want to tell her about the offer the man just gave him and make her worry more. But he wasn't really thinking about joining the Marines now, was he?

Olivia said nothing and they both got back to work.

* * *

11:33am: 1 hour and 27 minutes Before the Game:

It was almost noon and there were more people out and about on this beautiful Saturday. People with their kids, teenagers shopping, and just people hanging out. On the one way street that the Quick Stop was on a black Honda Civic pulled up in front of the store and two men stepped out of the car. A tall lanky man wearing shades, black jeans and a t-shirt that said 'Don't be stupid' came from the passenger's side and his friend an African American man wearing cargo shorts, a Mets jersey and cap came from the driver's side. They were John Munch and Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola respectively.

"Elliot is going to kill you." Munch said.

"Not before he kills you." Fin laughed. "And besides I think he'd appreciate the extra time with Olivia."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Munch shook his head.

They walked inside the convenience store and saw their friends at the counter.

"What's up Benson? Stabler?" Munch hollered.

"What the hell?!" Elliot looked annoyed. "I thought you were sick."

Fin smirked. "I was sick, I caught baseball fever."

"Asshole!" Elliot declared. "I worked all of yesterday just so I could stay home and…"

"And watch cartoons in your underwear?" Munch cut him off.

Olivia giggled.

"No!" Elliot was pissed. "Ugh, why are you two here?"

"Because Fin felt so bad that he made you come in today we thought we help out." Munch volunteered.

"And that's a bunch of bullshit!" Olivia stated. "John you never work on Saturdays, but you come here to dick around anyway."

"My cable's out." Fin said truthfully. "I need a place to watch the game."

"So why didn't you go to John's house?" Olivia asked.

"My TV broke a month ago." Munch said.

"Yeah and he's too cheap and lazy to get a new one." Fin sneered.

"So you boneheads came here to give me an ever hard time?" Elliot said.

"That and I wanted to see your face as the Mets destroy the Yankees today."

Elliot rolled his eyes. "Like I need more Mets fans screaming at me today."

"I presume you'll tell us later?" Munch asked Olivia.

Olivia nodded.

Fin went behind the counter and grabbed the remote for the TV, a 26 inch flat screen hanging on the wall that is normally used to watch the security feed. He turned on the power but when the TV came on it was just static.

"The security cameras are busted remember?" Elliot told him.

"I know that!" Fin retorted. "But I'm pretty sure I can change the input to basic and we can watch the game."

After a few minutes of flipping through the inputs they final got to basic cable.

"What channel is the game on?" Fin asked.

"5" Elliot told him.

Fin went to the channel and thankful the picture was clear. "Alright we got like an hour and fifteen before the game. We'll be back before the first pitch."

Fin came from behind the counter and he and Munch made their way to the door.

"Where you guys going?" Olivia asked.

"To smoke…" Fin didn't finish his sentence and they both walked out.

The duo went to the side of the building and Munch pulled out two cigarettes.

"No blunts today?" he asked Fin.

"Those are for after the game." Fin responded. He pulled out his lighter and lit up both their cigarettes.

They each took long drags before exhaling and leaned against the wall.

* * *

12:16pm: 44 minutes Before the Game:

Olivia was in the backroom cleaning up and Elliot was at the counter. A man brought a pack of cigarettes and then a lady came up with her items.

"Excuse me young man," it was an elderly woman with at least 10 cans of cat food in her hands. "Can you help me?"

Elliot put down his magazine. "Yes ma'am, I can ring those up for you."

"No, I want your opinion on these two brands." She held up a can of Iams and a can of Friskies.

"Sorry I don't have cats." He told her.

"You don't understand I want to know which brand taste better. I'm buying them for myself." This lady was dead serious.

"Ummm…what?" Elliot was confused. "Ma'am you do know this is cat food right?"

"Yes, but I read on the internet that cat food is healthy for you and cheaper than people food. I thought I'd give it a try." She said enthusiastically.

'_Great, another whack job.' _He thought. "I can't help you with that, just buy both?"

She thought about it for a while and Elliot rolled his eyes. _'Just buy the cat food and leave.'_

"Alright," she finally said. "I'll buy both five cans of each."

As he rung up her purchases Olivia walked back to the counter. "That'll be $8.50."

She paid him and walked out.

Elliot looked at Olivia. "Just so you know that lady brought cat food."

She shrugged. "So?"

"For herself," he told her. "She's gonna eat that cat food and that shows you the kind of clientele we cater to."

"Give it a rest El." Sometimes she gets so sick of his complaining. "As my dad would say 'suck it up and do your job.'"

"Fine, I'll change the subject." He looked straight at her. "How come we've never go out on like dates?"

This was a sudden 180 in the conversation.

"What?" she questioned. "We go on dates all the time."

"No, I'm not talking about going to Coney Island with the guys. I'm talking about just you and me."

She didn't know what to say.

"I've known you for 3 years and your one of my best friends. I know everything about you Liv and you know everything about me."

"What will your dad say?" she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Screw him," he said honestly. "That man wants me to marry a good catholic girl, have 5 kids and follow in his footsteps. What about what I want? I want to find the right person and that could start with you." He smiled at her.

"…I don't know what to say." Her heart was fluttering in her chest. Her best friend was asking her out on a date, it was completely out of left field but that was okay.

"You don't have to answer me now." Elliot knew he caught her off guard. "How about at the end of the day?"

"Sure." She smiled at him.

* * *

**Author's Note: So they got the TV to work...let's see how long that last. Also the bit with the lady and the cat food is something that happened to me twice when I worked at Pathmark, some people are just weird. Also h****eard Derek Jeter is going to retire after this season, he was a good guy signed my bat after a game. Sad to see him go. Like always reviews are welcome.**


	3. The Worst of Luck

**Author's Note: Yah, another chapter! Thank my insomnia and this huge snow storm we're having in New York. Also thanks to everybody reading this story and leaving great reviews!**

* * *

Chapter 3: The Worst of Luck

1:58pm: 7 hours and 2 minutes Before Closing:

As the day progressed it got hotter outside, it was already 85 degrees so Elliot turned on the AC inside the shop. Munch and Fin came inside right before the first pitch and they all sat down to watch the game; actually only Elliot and Fin were interested. As they had their faces glued to the TV Munch was sitting on a stool reading the NY Post and Olivia was manning the counter. Only a few customers here and there brought something, usually just cigarettes, bottles of water and some snacks.

It was the top of the third inning and Mets were up at bat. So far the score was Mets 2, Yankees 0 and Elliot was pissed because at the beginning of the game he and Fin made a $20 bet on who's team would win.

"David Wright at bat." Said the commentator.

"Come on big man!" Fin cheered. Wright was his favorite player henceforth the #5 jersey he sported.

"Come on Rivera strike this bum out!" Elliot cheered.

Rivera was at the pitcher's mound and threw a fastball, Wright swung and missed.

"Strike 1!" they heard the umpire yell.

Rivera threw another pitch and again Wright swung and missed.

"C'mon Wright!" Fin yelled. "Quite swinging at nothing!"

"Strike 2!"

This time Rivera threw a curve ball and Wright swung and hit it. It flew into the stands, it was a home run.

"Alright!" Fin cheered. "That's 3-0 Elliot."

"Whatever, we'll make it up when we're at bat."

They watched on as Wright ran around the diamond and making it back to home plate.

Munch put down his paper and looked at his friends. "You know if you two stopped yelling after every ball I'd be able to read my paper in peace."

They both gave him quizzical looks.

"You're reading the Post," Fin commented. "There's never anything good printed in there."

"He's right, the Post is garbage." Elliot joined in.

"Don't you have a friend that works for the Post?" Olivia asked Elliot.

"Exactly!" Elliot nodded. "All they ever print is trash."

"Shut up." John scoffed. He went back to the paper trying to ignore them.

* * *

2:20pm: 6 hours and 40 minutes Before Closing:

"That'll be $2.87" Olivia said to a young kid as they brought an Arizona and 2 honey buns. The kid handed her 3 dollars and Olivia gave them 13 cents change and they left.

The game continued and it was bottom of the third inning. The Yankees had first and third bases covered and Derek Jeter was at bat. While that was going on another customer walked into the store, it was a woman with long brown hair, a tough looking face and was wearing a navy blue NYPD trainee shirt.

Olivia looked in the direction of the door and smiled. "Dana Lewis?"

The woman known as Dana smiled back. "Olivia Benson long time no see, how you been?"

They exchanged a hand shake.

"You remember Fin and Munch right?"

They waved and said hello.

"So what brings you to the Quick Stop?" Olivia asked.

"I'm done with training for the day, just thought I'd stop by and get a drink." Dana told her. She walked to one of the many refrigerators and grabbed a Gatorade. She opened up her drink and looked around. "Where's Stabler?"

"In the back taking a piss." Munch answered.

As if on cue Elliot appeared from the back and stared at the woman. "Oh no, not you!"

"Glad to see you too Stabler."

He walked past her cautiously. "Why is _she_ here?"

"I came to make a purchase."

"Of all the stores around here you had to come to this one?"

"Bite me!" she sneered.

"That's not very ladylike." He teased.

She looked him over. "Those jeans make your ass look big and your package look small, now _that_ wasn't very ladylike."

Fin and Munch chuckled.

Elliot glared at them and then back to Dana. "I don't like you here."

"I don't care little mister." She had a southern accent. "I am a paying customer."

"You're more of a jinx than anything!" he stated firmly.

"I'm not a jinx."

"Yes you are!" Elliot leaned against the counter. "The first time I met you I got into a fight with your boyfriend and got a black eye."

Dana shook her head. "That was you own fault for accusing him of stealing and provoking him."

"The second time we crossed paths you egged me in front of the store." He said.

"You should have ducked."

Fin and Munch started to laugh again.

He thought for a moment. "Then there was that time you made me fall off the roof!"

"You shouldn't have been up there in the first place." She said.

"I was fixing something and you shouldn't have gone up there to scare me!" Elliot was annoyed.

Fin and Munch's laughter got even louder.

"I so don't need this!" Elliot exclaimed. "I'm not even supposed to be here today!"

"And yet you are." Fin added.

Elliot grumbled something as he went behind the counter.

"Well I'm glad you are here Stabler because I wanted to show you guys the piece I got today." Dana pulled out a 9mm handgun.

"What the hell?!" Fin exclaimed as he saw the gun. "Damn lady, you can't just pull that out!"

"Dana he's right." Olivia agreed. "Where'd you get that?"

Dana waved the hand she had her Gatorade in. "Relax it's just an airsoft gun. The academy gave these to us for training."

"And you have it with you now for what?" Munch asked. "Are you gonna rob us?"

"Shut up John! Don't give her any ideas!" Elliot didn't like where this was going.

"You're such a baby Stabler," Dana smirked. "I said it's an airsoft gun, it can't kill you." She slightly raised the gun but it was pointed to the TV. "Nothing bad is going to hap…"

A pop sound went off; it was from Dana's gun.

"Whoa, sorry about that." She apologized. "That's happened twice today." She looked at the others who all had expressions of pure shock.

There was a pellet sized hole in the TV screen, the picture went to static and then faded to black.

"The TV!" Olivia shouted.

"The game!" Fin and Elliot exclaimed.

"The AC!" Munch yelled.

Dana looked at the mess she just caused. A shot fired from her gun, hit the TV and then ricocheted and hit the AC. The TV screen was cracked and the AC was losing power.

"NO!" Fin yelled. "How we gonna watch the game now!?"

"Screw the game, what about the cool air we're going to lose?" Munch asked.

"See, you are a jinx!" Elliot was so angry; he just lost his only means of entertainment.

"Uh, Dana it think it be best if you left now." Olivia told her.

Dana silently agreed she put her gun away, paid for her Gatorade and left. "I'll see you guys some other time."

Olivia put her hands on her head. "My dad is going to kill me."

"I agree with Elliot," Fin went to examine the TV. "That lady is a jinx!"

"What are we going to do?" Munch inquired.

* * *

**Author's Note: Poor Elliot, every time him and Dana meet up bad things happen and in this fanfic is no different. Welp, there goes the TV, now what? No game and no AC, Elliot sure can't catch a break today. Like always review.**


	4. Adding to the Problem

Chapter 4: Adding to the Problem

2:37pm: 6 hours and 23 minutes Before Closing:

A man walked into the Quick Stop and looked at the two young men upset behind the counter.

"What's wrong with you two?" he had a thick Spanish accent.

They both pointed to the broken TV.

"What happen?"

They both answered at the same time. "Something stupid."

"Oh..." The guy said and then looked over to the broken AC. "What happen to that?"

Munch was standing on top of the stool trying to fix the conditioner and he looked at the Spanish guy. "Something stupid."

"Okay…" The guy turned back to Elliot and Fin. "Let me get a pack of Newports and a scratch off."

Elliot took both from behind the counter and handed them to the guy. "$4.50"

The guy took out his wallet and paid them. "I'm surprised you two ain't watching the game."

"The TV is broken genius." Fin sneered.

"Smartass," the guy started to walk out of the store. "Both those team suck! The Angels are the best!"

They ignored the guy as he left and they went back to watching Munch trying to fix the AC. Olivia came from the back room with a few tools and handed them to him.

"You two could help." She looked at her other friends.

"Why?" Fin questioned. "Munch is doing fine on his own and you say he never does enough work around here. Put him to good use."

"Screw you; I do plenty of work around here." Munch said.

"Sure you do." Fin leaned back in his chair.

Elliot looked at him. "Speaking of 'putting to good use' why don't you look in the basement?"

"For what?"

"Liv told me Cragen had an old TV somewhere." Elliot said.

"It's small but it should do the trick." She knew her friends really wanted to watch the game. "He used it until I convinced him to switch to high definition. I don't think he threw it out so it should be down there."

"Alright." Fin got up and headed towards the back of the store.

"And hurry!" Elliot hollered. "By the time you find it it'll probably be the end of 4th inning!"

* * *

2:50pm: 6 hours and 10 minutes Before Closing:

While Fin was still searching for the old TV in the basement the others were still trying to fix the AC.

John eventually stopped working. "I don't think it can be fixed." He put down the tools and hopped off the stool. "We're going to have to call somebody."

"Nobody is going to fix this thing until Monday." Elliot said.

"Well then make an appointment." Munch told him.

Elliot picked up his cell phone and grabbed the phone book from underneath the counter.

"Well since that's taken care of, who's hungry?" Munch asked.

"Are you paying for all of us?" Olivia asked.

"On my salary?"

"Why don't we get a pizza and split it 4-ways." Olivia suggested.

"Sure," He agreed. "Hey Elliot we're going to get a pizza from down the block."

Elliot was on hold with an electrician. "Half plain half peperoni."

"Like always." Munch responded.

Elliot handed him a few dollars. "Get me a sprite please."

"Okay," Olivia said as they left the store.

Elliot was by himself now and the electrician was on the phone.

"Yes hello, I'm an employee at the Quick Stop convenience store and our AC broke." He spoke into the phone. "I'd like to schedule an appointment on Monday." He waited a few seconds for a response. "Yes Monday at 9am is good, thank you." He hung up the phone.

Soon Fin came back up from the basement and he had a 16 inch TV in his arms. "Found it!"

"Alright, now we can get back to the game!" Elliot cheered.

"Where's Liv and Munch?" Fin asked.

"They went to get pizza."

They set up the TV on a stool and plugged it in. Fin turned it on but when it came to life the picture was in black and white. "How old is this damn thing?"

"Ah what's it matter?" Elliot questioned. "We can still see and hear the game."

They switched through the channels until they got to the game. They high fived each other in excitement. It was the bottom of the fourth inning and the score was Mets 3, Yankees 2 they were still in this game.

"We're catching up Fin." Elliot smiled, hopefully his team won't lose.

* * *

3:04pm: 5 hours and 56 minutes Before Closing:

The Yankees were still at bat but they had 2 outs. CC Sabathia was on third base and Ichiro Suzuki was at bat.

"Come on Suzuki!" Elliot said. "If he gets a home we'll be up by 1."

"No way he's going to hit it out of the park." Fin told him.

Matt Harvey was on the pitcher's mound, he threw a fastball and Ichiro hit it.

"Dammit!" Fin swore.

It wasn't a home run but it went far into right field. They watched on as Sabathia ran home scoring the Yankees another point. Ichiro passed first base and then second base but one of the Mets outfielders threw the ball to the second baseman and then to the catcher. Ichiro slid to home base but the umpire yelled "You're out!"

"Yes!" Fin cheered. "Told ya' he wasn't gonna hit a home run."

"We're still tied though." Elliot responded.

The teams started to switch sides and while that was happening the television feed went to commercial.

"Alright, we're tied at 3 and we got 3 more innings." Fin said. "I'm calling it now Mets are going to win."

"Like you said, we got 3 more innings to go." Elliot retorted.

Fin went to one of the refrigerators and grabbed a Gatorade. "Want anything?"

"No," Elliot called out. "Olivia is getting me a sprite."

"Why?"

"Because she was going to the pizza shop."

"Dude, you work in a convenience store. Why didn't you just take a sprite?"

"Because I _work_ here."

"So?" Fin walked back up to the counter. "I work here too."

"You're right." Elliot glared at him. "And since you work here you can stay for the rest of the day and do your job."

"If you leave now by the time you get home the game will be over." Fin smirked. "'sides you getting paid today."

"Well yeah but…"

"But what?" Fin interrupted him. "If you'd stayed home and watched the game your sisters would have bothered you all day. You love our company Elliot admit it."

"You guys are assholes but you are my best friends."

"Exactly." Fin loved being right. "Plus you get to spend extra time with Olivia."

"That's true." Elliot agreed. "Actually this morning I asked her out on a date."

Fin raised an eyebrow. "An actual date? For real?"

His Yankees loving friend nodded his head. "Yep, I asked her out."

"Well what she say?" Fin was listening to his every word.

"She was stunned."

"I kinda figured that, you two are the best of friends." He smiled. "You always driving each other home, she helps you study for the police exam and sometimes you have dinner at her house. It was only a matter of time."

"Well she didn't give me an answer." Elliot told him. "But at the end of the day she should."

"I wish the best for you two." Fin opened his Gatorade.

"I really wish you would pay for that." Elliot got back to the matter at hand. "You're not working so that makes you a customer."

"Put it on my employee tab."

Elliot was about to say something when another customer walked in, it was a young lady with blonde hair and blue eyes. She had an ice cold stare that she was directing towards Elliot.

"Oh great," Fin sarcastically said. "More trouble."

The young lady walked up to the counter. "Odafin, _Elliot_." She put a lot of emphasis on the ladder's name.

Elliot sighed. "Hello Kathy."

"We need to talk." She was demanding. "Privately." She looked at Fin.

"Just pretend I'm not here." He told her. "I'm just tryin' to watch the ball game."

She rolled her eyes and then looked back to Elliot. "I want to get back together."

Elliot's eyes widen, he was genuinely confused. He and Kathy went to the same Catholic school and they dated for 2 years. But there was a bump in their relationship.

"I told you this a thousand times Kathy, we're not getting back together." He firmly stated. "You cheated on me and I can't forgive you for that."

"I didn't cheat on you Elliot." She looked him in the eye.

"Yes you did." He retorted. "You weren't faithful to me."

"I was faithful!" she was getting angrier.

Fin tried to stifle a laugh. Kathy looked at him. "Like I said, I'm not even here."

"Elliot I didn't sleep with anyone I swear to you." She pleaded.

"But you did go down on guys." He was upset that this topic was coming up. "While we were dating."

"It was only once or twice."

"It was 36 times!" Elliot was angry. "You sucked 36 guys' dicks!"

"But I didn't love those guys!" she was trying to defend herself. "I only love you."

"So?" he questioned.

"So?" she repeated. "So what?"

"So if you loved me then why'd you suck 36 dicks?"

She was silent for a moment. "I-I thought you were cheating on me."

"What?!" he was shocked. "Who'd you think I was cheating on you with?!"

"That bitch who works here!"

"Don't you call her that! Her name is Olivia."

"You were cheating on me with _her._"

"No I wasn't!"

"Yes you were! You would spend more time with her than me and you wouldn't talk to me. You'd come in here just to talk to her. I need to ask, was I not good enough?" Kathy was really emotional.

"She's my best friend." He said truthfully. "She understands me, just like those two wise guys." He was referring to Fin and Munch. "You hurt me and these are guys are the only ones I can trust." He took a deep breather. "Kathy, I think it be best if you leave."

She was visibly angry but she complied, however she didn't leave without causing Elliot a little more grief. She saw the small TV on the stool and how fast they went back to watching the ball game. She looked at them before pushing the TV over, it made a loud crash and the screen was busted. They got up from their chairs and looked extremely pissed off.

"Enjoy the rest of your day boys." She gave them an evil grin before leaving the Quick Stop.

The duo went to examine the TV, there were small glass shards on the ground so Fin grabbed a broom and dustpan to sweep up. "We can't catch a break today!"

"That's 2 broken TVs in one day!" Elliot sighed. "Liv is going to kill me."

"Don't forget the broken AC." Fin reminded him. "It's starting to get really hot in here."

"All this and I wasn't supposed to work today!" Elliot threw his hands up. "Can this day get any worse?!"

* * *

**Author's Note: Oh Elliot, you have 5 more hours of work and a lot can happen! *evil laugh***

**Also if some of you think my portrayal of Kathy is harsh she's supposed to be like Veronica from Clerks. She told Dante in the movie she sucked 36 dicks but she only had sex with the guys she loved. I needed a reason why those two weren't together and for this story that seemed appropriate (in an inappropriate matter). Like always review are welcome.**


	5. Strength in Numbers

**Author's Note: It's been a couple of days since I've added a chapter but college comes first. Well here's chapter 5 and it's longer this time I promise! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 5: Strength in Numbers

3:17pm: 5 hours and 43 minutes Before Closing:

The heat was finally setting inside the store there was no more cool air. Fin took off his Mets jersey and was wearing a grey tank top. He was sitting on top the ice cream freezer with his face inside. Elliot came from outside after he threw out the broken TV and he kept the door wide open.

"Let's gets some air in here." He looked over to his friend. "What are you doing?"

Fin removed his head out of the freezer. "I'm hot and all this heat is messing up my perm." He took off his cap and tied his hair in a bushy ponytail.

"Such a girl…" Elliot joked.

"If you had hair like mine you'd take good care of it." Fin told him.

"Whatever," He rolled his eyes. "Just don't put your head in there, people buy that stuff."

"It's not on my junk, what's the big deal?" Fin asked.

"Cut me some slack."

"Fine," Fin closed the freezer. "But it's just gonna get hotter."

Before either said another word an old man walked in. He was portly, had thinning hair and wore horn rimmed glasses.

"Can I help you sir?" Elliot asked.

"Yeah," the man responded. "You got a bathroom in here?"

"I'm sorry sir but that's for employees only."

"Come on sonny," the guy pleaded. "I'm not young anymore."

"Yeah but like I said it's for employees only."

"Can't you take a hint?" Fin was getting annoyed.

"I'll buy something." He pointed behind the counter. "One of those magazines."

Fin looked over the man's shoulders. "The porno mags?"

The older man looked at him. "Yeah they got the biggest tits in those; they're amazing!"

Neither men said anything and Elliot just rung up the magazine. "3.99"

The man paid him and took his purchase. "Now can I use your bathroom? It'll only take a second, please young man."

Fin shrugged his shoulders and Elliot just sighed. "Fine, but make it quick sir."

"Thank you young man." He started to walk to the back.

"The bathroom is in the back to the left." Elliot told him.

Soon after that Olivia and Munch walked into the store with a pizza box and a few sodas.

"Geez, it's like sauna in here." Munch commented. "I can't tell if it's hotter in here or out there." He put the pizza on the counter.

"Exactly!" Fin agreed.

"Stop complaining we got pizza." Olivia said.

"Thank you." Fin and Elliot both said. Fin handed Olivia a few dollars to pay for his share of the pie.

John went to a refrigerator and grabbed a pepsi.

"Would you pay for that?" Elliot asked him.

"Put it on my employee tab." He smirked.

They opened the box and each of them grabbed a slice; plain for Olivia and John, peperoni for Elliot and Fin.

While they were eating Olivia stopped for a moment. "So I guess you guys didn't find the TV?"

Fin and Elliot looked at each other; they weren't afraid of telling her that the TV was broken but that Kathy came to the store and called Elliot out.

"Well…uh…" Elliot started.

"The TV was broke." Fin took over. "It had a busted screen so we threw it in the trash." He hated lying to Olivia but better him than Elliot. Why bring up Kathy to her?

"Yeah," Elliot silently thanked his friend for not bring up _why_ the TV broke. "We threw it out, hope you don't mind."

"That's okay." She told them. "That's one less thing that needs to be cleaned out of the basement."

"But that was their last chance to watch the game." Munch added.

"Don't remind us." Elliot mopped.

"While we were at the pizza shop they had a TV playing the game." Olivia said. "When we left the score was Mets 4, Yankees 3."

"At least the Mets are a point ahead." Fin was glad.

* * *

3:30pm: 5 hours and 30 minutes Before Closing:

After the pizza was eaten Elliot and Olivia got back to work and Fin and Munch were outside the store smoking.

"Hey man, what time is it?" Fin asked as he took his cigarette out of his mouth.

John looked at his watch. "3:30"

"Damn!" Fin swore. "The game is almost over; I'd give it an hour tops."

After releasing a small drag Munch gave his friend some hope. "I recall seeing a radio in the basement once, maybe you could use that."

"What?" Fin looked incredulously at him. "You knew about a radio all this time and you didn't say anything?"

"Well you found the TV but I didn't expect you guys to break it." He smirked.

Before Fin responded a few more of their friends walked up to the convenience store, three women and one young man. They were all friends though Olivia who also went to Hudson University with the four newcomers. Two of the ladies were holding hands, the blond named Alex Cabot and the ginger named Casey Novak; they were an item. Alex was in her third year of law school and Casey was in her second. There was a young lady with mocha colored skin and curly hair her name was Melinda Warner, she was in her third year of medical school. Then there was their male friend George Huang, he was the youngest of them all only being 16 years old. He skipped a few grades, graduated high school early and started his first year of his psychology major. The guys would often call him 'Tiny' due to his age and height but all in good fun.

"Hi guys," Melinda said first. She went up and hugged Fin.

"Hey,' Munch waved. "It's about time you guys got out of class, it's a Saturday."

"Some of us actually do things on the weekends." Casey said.

"We do things." Munch told her.

"Standing outside of the store when you should be working isn't doing stuff." Alex joined.

"I'm not working today," Fin told them. "I got Elliot to work my shift today."

"And yet you're here because…?" George gave him a confused look.

"To give 'em a hard time." He smirked. "Actually my TV broke so I came here to watch the game."

"Crap," Casey remembered. "I forgot the game was today. What's the score?"

"Last time we checked the score was Mets 4, Yankees 3."

"Alright!" Casey cheered and she gave Fin a high five. Both were die hard Mets fan. "But why aren't you watching the game right now?

"The TV in the store broke." Fin said. "But I was about to go search for a radio Munch just remembered to tell me about. I gotta go look in the basement." He put out his cigarette, went into the store and walked passed Elliot and Olivia. "The ladies and George are here." He then processed into the basement.

Elliot and Olivia were at the counter and they were watching a customer who came into the store. There was a man sitting on the floor near the refrigerators holding cartons of eggs. He was examining each and every egg by touching, smelling and licking them; it was an odd spectacle. George then walked into store.

"Hi guys," he greeted.

Olivia smiled. "Hi George, class is over for the day?"

"Yes," he told her. "We thought we'd stop by and say hello."

"This is weird." Elliot commented not really paying them any attention.

George looked over to the guy. "What is he doing?"

"He says he's looking for the perfect dozen." Elliot responds. "I told him he could mix and match but he said it was important to have standards. He said people didn't have pride anymore, it's just weird."

"I've read about this in psych class," George started. "A stock boy in Alphabet City said there was a guy who was also looking for the perfect dozen and would perform all sorts of endurance test. He would spend hours looking but nobody ever called the cops on him."

"How come?" Olivia asked.

"Well they said he never bothered anybody and if he broke something he would pay for it."

As George said that the guy got upset and smashed the eggs on the glass door. His search was wasted and he smashed more eggs.

"He's going to pay for those," Elliot commented. "But who's going to clean up the mess he's making?"

The guy got up and went to pay for the eggs he smashed. He was angry as he walked out. "No fucking standards!"

Elliot groaned. "All this grief and I'm not even supposed to be here today!"

* * *

3:48pm: 5 hours and 12 minutes Before Closing:

After some searching Fin found a small radio and brought it back upstairs. Him, Elliot, Casey and John were all listening to the final inning inside the store while Olivia, Alex, Melinda and George were talking outside the store.

"So he actually asked you out on a date?" Alex asked incredulously.

"It's about time." Melinda added.

"What?" Olivia questioned sheepishly.

"Don't play dumb Olivia," Alex smirked. "We all knew you two liked each other."

George nodded. "It was bound to happen."

"You guys are right." Olivia smiled.

"So did you give him an answer?" George asked.

"No not yet, he gave me until the end of the day to think about it."

"What's there to think about?" Melinda asked. "We all know you're going to say yes."

"I just wanted to think it through and not seem desperate."

"So that's a yes?" Alex said.

She ignored Alex. "We're best friends and I don't want to ruin things between us."

"You won't," George reassured her. "You two practically know everything about each other, you two are great for each other."

"But what if I _do_ something bad and things don't go great? It'll be awkward when I come to work because I have to see him."

"For someone who wants to be a cop you need to stop worrying so much." Melinda said. "What's life without risk?"

Olivia smiled at her friends' and weighed her options.

* * *

4:25pm: 4 hours and 35 minutes Before Closing:

It was the bottom of the seventh inning and the score was Mets 6, Yankees 5. With the bases loaded and two outs the Yanks were on their last leg. The guys and Casey were on the edge of their seats listening to every word. If the Yanks strikeout then the Mets win and Elliot wouldn't hear the end of it from Fin and Casey, regardless that it's only the first game in the series. A-Rod was on third base, Jacoby Ellsbury was on second base and Sabathia was on first with Brain McCann at bat.

"It's comes down to this." The announcer's voice came over the radio. "A true nail biter between city rivals and whoever wins this game will have an advantage."

"Get ready to pay up Elliot." Fin said eagerly.

"I should be saying the same to you." Elliot retorted.

"Quite you two." Casey said.

"…And here's the pitch." Said the announcer. "McCann swings and it's a line drive."

"No!" Fin and Casey shout.

"Murphy with the catch!" the announcer roared. "Yanks are out, Mets win! METS WIN!"

"NO!" It was Elliot's turn to yell out in frustration.

Fin and Casey high fived as their team won the game.

"Pay up!" Fin extended his hand.

Elliot reached into his wallet and handed Fin $20. "I should've stayed home today."

"Why?" Casey mocked. "Your precious team still would have lost."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't have to hear you two rub it in my face." He groaned. "All this and…"

"You weren't supposed to work today." Everyone else said. "We know."

Elliot looked around at his friends and just shrugged sheepishly.

* * *

**Author's note: So I lied a little, this chapter isn't that long, but I wanted to give you guys an update! Reviews are always welcome!**


	6. Another Game is Played

Chapter 6: Another Game is Played

4:31pm: 4 hours and 29 minutes Before Closing:

So the ball game was over with the Mets winning game one, the sun has waned behind the tall Manhattan buildings and group was just hanging out in the store.

"I'm bored!" Casey complained.

Everyone looked up at her.

"We all are," Olivia said.

"The difference is me and Liv have to stay here, the rest of you guys can leave." Elliot said. "No offense."

"None taken." Alex said.

"But it's so hot on the subway!" Casey groaned. "And there's nothing to do."

"I thought we were going to my house?" Alex asked.

"I know that's a trick to get me to study for finals." Casey stuck out her tongue. "Why don't we do something fun?"

"What you got in mind?" Fin asked.

"We could play ball." She smiled. "I got my ball and glove in my backpack and I know Cragen keeps a bat behind the counter."

"Yeah but that's for safety reasons." Elliot said.

"No one's robbing the store now," she rebutted. "Quit being such a tight ass let's play ball."

"We are working you know." He looked at her.

"So then close the store, no one is coming in here."

"She's got a point." Fin chimed in.

He sucked his teeth and looked at Olivia. "What do you say?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Why not? As long as you don't tell I won't and that goes for the rest of you guys."

"_Yes mom_," Munch said sarcastically and everyone laughed.

"Who's got a pen and paper?" Elliot asked.

George went into his messenger bag and handed him the items. Elliot wrote a sign that said 'Store temporarily closed, be back in 20 minutes!' He tapped the sign to the door and grabbed the baseball bat from behind the counter. "Alright, let's go play!" They all walked out of the store and Elliot locked the door behind them.

* * *

4:40pm: 4 hours and 20 minutes Before Closing:

They were all standing in front of the store and mapping out the bases.

"Alright," Fin started. "The fire hydrant is home, the street light is first, the manhole cover is second and my car is third; anyone hits it you're dead!"

"Me and Elliot are team captains." Casey said.

"Who picks first?" He asked.

They both stuck out their hand. "Rock, paper, scissors say shoot,"

Casey had scissors and Elliot had rock.

"Yes!" he smirked. "I pick Olivia,"

"Of course you do," Casey rolled her eyes. "Elliot and Olivia sitting in a tree…"

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Fin and Munch joined in.

"First comes love, then comes marriage…" Melinda and Alex chanted.

"Then comes a baby in a baby carriage." George finished.

"Shut up guys!" Both Elliot and Olivia yelled.

The 6 laughed at the duo's plight.

"See, they're even saying the same thing." Munch said.

Elliot and Olivia looked at each other and started blushing. They looked away and Elliot rubbed the back of his head. "Pick someone Casey," he wanted the attention to be on the game instead of on them.

After the laughter died down Casey picked her first teammate. "I pick Fin, Mets fans gotta stick together."

"Fair enough," Elliot said. "I pick Melinda."

"You splitting us up?" Fin asked.

"She's a fast runner." He responded.

"Nothing personal," Melinda said.

"Well I pick Alex because if I don't she'll kill me." Casey said.

"Nice of you to care." Alex said sarcastically.

"And I pick George because at least he's not as bad as John." Elliot said.

"Oh great," Munch groaned. "It's just like middle school all over again."

"Relax man," Fin tried to reassure him. "All you gotta do is catch the ball and throw it to one of us." He thought about this for a second. "…you know what? Why don't you man first base, away from my car."

"Fine," he huffed out.

As they got ready George thought of something. "We only have one glove? What about the rest of us?"

"We're a bunch of college students playing in the middle of the street," Alex said. "There's nothing legit about this game."

"Did somebody at least block off the street?" he asked.

"George stop worrying so much." Melinda said. "We're watching the street."

The teams were set and Elliot's team was first at bat. Casey was the pitcher, Munch was on first, Alex was on second and Fin was on third. Elliot was up first, he flipped his cap backwards and got ready for the pitch.

"I'm not gonna go easy on you Stabler!" Casey yelled.

"Wasn't counting on it!" he replied.

Casey winded up and threw the ball, Elliot hit it and it flew pass all the basemen. The ball rolled down the block and Alex ran after it.

"Come on Alex!" Fin yelled.

Elliot was making his way around the makeshift bases and Alex finally grabbed the ball. She threw it towards Fin but Elliot was already standing next to the car.

"I'm safe." He smirked.

"Yeah, yeah." Fin threw the ball to Casey.

It was Olivia's turn. Casey threw the ball underhand and Olivia hit but not too far; it was a pop fly and Alex was able to catch it.

"Come on Olivia, what was that?" Elliot hollered.

"Bite me El!" she yelled.

"Aw, lover's quarrel?" Casey joked. "Alright, who's next?"

Melinda stepped up to bat.

"Send me home!" Elliot egged on.

Casey was about to throw the ball but was interrupted but the sound of a car horn.

"Move you stupid kids!" yelled the angry driver. They all parted ways so the car could get by.

"Now , where were we?" Casey asked as they all moved back into position.

Melinda got ready again and Casey threw the ball. She hit it and it came towards Fin's car and hit the hood.

"Damn baby! What I say about my car?!" Fin yelled.

Elliot saw the advantage and ran towards home and Melinda kept on running as Fin struggled to get the ball that rolled under the car. She also made it to home and that was 2 points for Elliot's team.

"She didn't break a window, stop complaining!" Casey was slightly annoyed.

"What do you see in this chick?" Fin asked Alex.

"Her can-do attitude." Alex smiled.

"Enough with the lovey dovey stuff! Focus!" Elliot hollered.

George took the bat and hoped he wouldn't strike out. He wasn't the best at sports but he was still a team player.

"At least I don't have to worry about Tiny hitting my car," Fin said offhandedly.

Casey threw the ball and George swung as hard as he could, the ball flew up and far.

"Damn," Munch said as all of them watched the ball keep going.

"I did!" George cheered. He started to run around the bases and everyone else was still awestruck.

Suddenly there was a loud crash, the ball flew into the third floor window of the laundry mat a couple of doors down.

"Oh shit!" Olivia swore.

"I'm not getting in trouble of this." Elliot said.

They all started running towards the store, Elliot unlocked the door and they all went inside. He took the sign off the door and saw the store owner of the laundry mat come outside and see the damage.

"Everyone be cool," he said. He threw the baseball bat over to Fin and hid it under the counter.

"Uh, we're leaving." Alex said.

"But Alex…" Casey groaned.

"I'm not staying to get into trouble," she said. "Well see you guys later."

Melinda gave Fin a kiss goodbye. "So I'll see you tomorrow."

Alex, Casey, Melinda and George headed out of the store.

"Casey!" Elliot hollered.

The redhead came back in. "What?"

"For the record, my team won." He gave her a satisfying grin.

"Screw you!" she yelled. "This wasn't even a real game!"

Before Casey could say anything else Alex walked back to grab her. "C'mon we need to catch the train, I'm not waiting in that hot station longer than I have to."

"Fine, but someone owes me a new ball." Casey said, her girlfriend made a good point. "Liv call us later." Then they left.

"Well that went nowhere." Elliot sighed. "Ten minutes of game time for a broken window."

"Well we didn't break anything in the store, so that's good." Munch said.

"Now you jinxed it." Fin said. "Something stupid is going to happen again!"


	7. Today Wasn't That Bad

Chapter 7: Today Wasn't That Bad

5:18pm: 3 hours and 42 minutes Before Closing:

John and Fin were in the alleyway behind the store. Fin meant what he said earlier about celebrating if the Mets won and they were now smoking blunts. They liked to get high, simple as that; Fin had a live and let live attitude and John tried it once and like getting high with his friend. They would sit on packing crates smoking and laughing for hours on days they didn't work. Elliot and Olivia didn't mind it that much, while they didn't smoke and chose not to tell Cragen about their friends' drug use they didn't ostracize them for it. Meanwhile, back in the store the other duo was sitting behind the counter, Olivia was reading a magazine and Elliot was fiddling with the radio Fin found earlier.

"Anything special you want to listen to?" Elliot asked.

Olivia looked up from her magazine. "Not really, just listen to whatever you want."

"'Kay," he just kept switching through channels and left it on some generic pop station.

He looked at her but she didn't notice. He was about to say something when she turned and looked out the store window.

"Liv…"

"Hold that thought El," she said. She got out of her seat and took a closer look out the window. "I gotta go real quick."

"What? How come?" he asked.

"I drove here this morning and parked like 4 blocks away." She grabbed her car keys out of her backpack. "A spot just freed up outside, I want to park closer. I'll be back in like 10 minutes." She ran out of the store.

He sighed when she left. "Dammit," he sat there and looked out the window waiting for her to come back.

* * *

5:30pm: 3 hours and 30 minutes Before Closing:

Elliot was still sitting there waiting for Olivia to come back and only serviced 2 customers that came in. Suddenly he heard footsteps and someone walked into the store; he looked and only realized it was Fin.

"Yo, man we about to leave." He said. "Close up shop will ya?"

"You're not working today." Elliot said in a nonchalant tone. He grabbed Fin's jersey and tossed it to his friend.

Fin saw the look on his face. "What's got your tampon in a bunch?"

"Nothing," he huffed out.

"I don't not need to be high to know that you're upset." Fin grinned. "Where's Liv? I know she can turn that frown right side up."

"She went to go move her car."

"So? She coming back."

"I know but I've been thinking,"

"Oh no Stabler been thinking." Fin teased.

"I'm being serious!"

"Alright, don't chop my head off." He put his hands up defensively. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm having second thoughts," Elliot hesitated for a second. "On asking Olivia out."

"Why?" Fin questioned. "You like her don't you? You the one who asked her out, you can't take that back. Be sure of your decisions."

"I know I can't take back asking her out, but what if I screw up?" he looked down at the counter. "What if she tells me no?"

"Pussy," Fin firmly stated.

"What did you say?!" Elliot got angry and shot him a glare.

"You heard me," Fin stood his ground. "Don't be a bitch! So what if she tells you no; even though SHE WON'T! Life goes on!" Although he was high Elliot knew his friend was still serious about what he said. "I'm going to play the Devil's right hand man…"

"Devil's advocate,"

"What?" Fin was confused.

"You mean you're going to play devil's advocate." Elliot corrected.

"Whatever!" Fin ignored him. "Let's say she says no, what's really going to happen?"

"…"Elliot didn't get a word out, Fin didn't let him.

"You and Liv will still be friends, you will still work together and I damn well know you two will still hang out." Fin took a deep breath. "Now let's say she says yes, you know what'll change?"

"What?" Elliot raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing!" Fin exclaimed. "The only difference will be that you two can hold hands, kiss and make all the googly eyes at each other all you want!"

"But…"

"But nothing!" Fin interrupted him again. "Take charge of your life! Make your own decisions and be happy."

They both stood silent for a while and stared each other down.

"I want to be happy," Elliot finally said.

"Exactly," Fin agreed. "And I know Liv wants to be happy too."

"We all want to be happy," Elliot stated.

"The first step to being happy is inside of ourselves or some shit." Fin defiantly had a way with words. "We all work a crappy job but is it really that bad? This whole day I've kept hearing you say 'I wasn't supposed to work today' but so what? You got to hang out with your friends, watch the game even though your team lost, play a little ball and you're getting paid." Fin listed on his fingers. "Can you really tell me that today was that bad?"

"No, it wasn't a bad day." Elliot told him. "I've had way worst."

"See," Fin said. "Smile and look on the bright side."

"What's the bright side?" Elliot wanted to hear Fin's answer.

"You get to close early." Fin smiled.

Elliot shed a small smile.

Fin thinks he was getting to his friend. "I'm done with my rant and I'm going to let you think about everything I've said." He put on his baseball jersey and then grabbed a Gatorade from the refrigerator.

Neither one of the guys noticed that someone had heard the whole conversation. Munch was standing in the doorway and just looked at them. "I heard everything and that was deep man."

Fin and Elliot chuckled. Fin put a hand on Elliot shoulder. "Think about what I said and don't worry 'bout Liv of course she'll say yes to a date. He then started to walk towards the door.

"Fin," he turned around. Elliot looked at him. "Thanks,"

"No problem,"

"But you still owe me for that Gatorade you just took." Elliot said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah put it on my tab." Fin said offhandedly. "C'mon Munch let's go!" he left the store to start his car.

Munch walked over to Elliot. "Ya know you can't pick your family but you can pick your friends and who you date. There's a lot of good looking women in New York but out of all of them you chose right."

Elliot just looked at him shocked that Munch said something that wasn't a snide comment and he thought about what he said.

Munch smiled at him before taking a Gatorade and leaving. "See you Monday."

Elliot was now in the store by himself just thinking about what his friends had said.

* * *

**Author's Note: It's short but I wanted to have a semi-meaningful chapter and conversation between Elliot and Fin. The way their relationship was in the show I could see these two having a talk like this because sometimes they do have differences in ideals. Next chapter will be the FINAL CHAPTER as the day is almost over! Reviews are always appreciated and I hoped everybody liked the chapter.**


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